1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to fuels suitable for use in fusion reactions, and more particularly to cage-like nanoscale molecules suitable to contain and support light nuclei.
2. General Background
In nuclear fusion, two light nuclei can be combined to form a heavier nucleus and release excess binding energy—this is commonly called “fusion.” When the two light nuclei are combined, the resultant product's mass is slightly less than the original light nuclei. The difference in mass is released as energy according to Einstein's formula E=mc2.
An example of two light nuclei combining is the combination of deuterium and tritium into helium. Light nuclei include hydrogen, deuterium, tritium, helium, helium-3, beryllium, lithium-6, lithium-7, and boron.
Hydrogen is the smallest atom and contains a single proton coupled with a single electron. When hydrogen has its electron removed it is sometimes referred to as protium, as it is a single proton. Deuterium is a natural isotope of hydrogen that is comprised of a nucleus containing one neutron and one proton. Deuterium combined with oxygen in the form of D2O is referred to as heavy water and is used in fission plants to moderate neutrons and breed tritium. Tritium is comprised of a nucleus containing two neutrons and one proton. Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen that is created by the capture of a neutron by deuterium or lithium-6 such as in a nuclear reaction that occurs in a fission plant. Tritium is radioactive and has a half-life of about 12.4 years. Tritium occurs naturally due to cosmic rays interacting with deuterium in the atmosphere. Hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium are chemically interchangeable and exhibit similar properties.
Fusion, which is the combining of nuclei, can be made to occur under conditions of nuclei confinement which require very high temperatures, and compressing the mixture of nuclei to be combined to high density for adequate time. One way this is currently done is inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in which a high energy multibeam laser irradiates a pellet containing deuterium or D/T mixture. Another method involves using femtosecond pulsed lasers. In all of these methodologies the presence of carbon in the vicinity of plasma generation in such fusion methods as ICF, magnetic fusion and smaller scale femtosecond terawatt pulsed laser induced fusion is currently viewed as being detrimental to the reaction because carbon comes off the stainless steel walls of the reaction chambers and produces a cooling effect on the plasma that is detrimental. One existing approach to producing nuclear fusion in a controlled manner uses a fuel that combines deuterium and tritium in glass microspheres that typically have spherical geometries of 10 to 2,000 micrometers in diameter. This is one form of the so-called “internal confinement” fuel. High intensity beams are used to heat the shell or core of the microspheres sufficiently to cause fusion of the light nuclei contained inside. However, a challenge with this and other confinement fusion approaches is the need for even, simultaneous heating and uniform compression of the light nuclei.
Accordingly, a container device is needed that facilities the transfer of high temperature and compression to light nuclei for sufficient time to combine the nuclei. It would also be desirous to have a container device including an array of containers which increase the density of non-confined light nuclei subject to temperature and compression.